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Women act as shields for Palestinian fighters

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 4, 2006

GAZA CITY - About 200 veiled Palestinian women broke through an Israeli troop and tank cordon around a mosque Friday to serve as human shields for dozens of armed militants trying to get out of the mosque.

The militants, some dressed in women's clothes, escaped but two of the women were killed by Israeli fire and 17 were wounded on one of the deadliest days of fighting in the coastal territory this year.

The women's uprising brought a dramatic end to a 15-hour standoff and served as a surprise setback for Israeli forces that had stormed the town of Beit Hanoun on Wednesday to root out stockpiles of crude Kassam rockets and the militants who launch them into Israel.

An unarmed 17-year-old boy and a Hamas fighter also were killed in Beit Hanoun on Friday, bringing the death toll in the three-day operation to 13 militants, seven civilians and one Israeli soldier.

With Israelis occupying most of the town, the militants had taken refuge Thursday in Nasir Mosque and exchanged fire with them.

After a frantic night of organizing, the women marched Friday morning from the neighboring town of Beit Lahiya to take up their mission as shields.

"We risked our lives to save our sons," said Jamela Shanti, 45, a member of the Palestinian parliament and an organizer of the rescue operation.

Most of the gunmen belong to Hamas, the Islamist movement that governs the Palestinian territories. Israeli soldiers trying to force their surrender also hurled stun and smoke grenades at the mosque and knocked down an outer wall with a bulldozer late Thursday, weakening the structure, residents of the town said.

At that point, Hamas leaders devised the plan that depended on a large number of unarmed female volunteers.

Shanti, one of two Gaza women in Hamas' parliamentary delegation, said it was hashed out during a 2 a.m. meeting of the party leadership. Two hours later, she began recruiting other women to help. As dawn broke Friday, the Hamas radio station urged women to gather for a march to Beit Hanoun - a call repeated over loudspeakers in several towns.

The lead group of women approached the besieged mosque on foot, shouting at the Israelis to leave Gaza. Israeli soldiers turned from the mosque and opened fire.

An Israeli army spokesman said soldiers had spotted two male militants hiding among the women and fired at them.

In the ensuing melee, the crowd retreated, regrouped and advanced again, pushing its way inside the Israeli cordon. The soldiers held their fire, witnesses said, and the women entered the mosque and guided the militants out.

Shortly afterward, the mosque's roof collapsed.

"I salute the women of Palestine, who led the protest to break the siege of Beit Hanoun," said Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.

Israeli officials have said they expect the operation in Beit Hanoun to last several more days. It is the first takeover of an entire town since Israeli forces and settlers unilaterally withdrew from the coastal strip 14 months ago after a 38-year occupation.

[Last modified November 4, 2006, 01:02:14]